Ikaruga looking for Steam release, now listed on Greenlight

PC Gamer web editor Tom Senior loves spaceships. He loves them when they're being shot out into Oculus-powered space , he loves them when they're designed out of giant cube construction sets , and he definitely loves them when they're battling in a bullet-hell assault of bi-coloured carnage. So if you could all do him a favour, and go vote on Ikaruga's new Greenlight page , that'd be swell. You don't even have to buy it, although, as one of the most lasting cult classics of the shmup-'em-up genre, you probably should.

Based on a polarity switching mechanic, Ikaruga took the high-skill art of avoiding plasma bullet spam and increased the stakes by making you switch states to avoid same-coloured threats. Should it be Greenlit, the Steam release will be based on the Xbox 360 port, offering co-op and a "double play" mode that lets you pilot two ships with one pad. Seeing that, I made a private bet to myself that someone would have successfully played that mode solo. Oh look, I won .

Treasure have offered no timetable on when the game would be made available, suggesting that it depends on them getting Greenlit. Given that Valve have dramatically increased the acceptance rate over the last month, I wouldn't be surprised if this one got fast tracked.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.